


In Pursuit: Katie

by sanbika



Series: In Pursuit [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Galaxy Garrison, Garrison AU, Garrison trio, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Langst, M/M, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2019-05-06 01:37:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14631362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanbika/pseuds/sanbika
Summary: The team is trying so hard to achieve their goals of graduating as fighter class. But they all have a breaking point. Lance has reached his. Can his friends help? Langst told in five parts. Katie's story.





	In Pursuit: Katie

Katie wasn’t often in a position where she felt shame. Being a wunderkind/child prodigy/genius made praise and acknowledgment familiar and criticism…. unusual at best. It was hard to even imagine a scenario where she could feel ashamed, yet here she was in her second-to-last simulator practical examination of the year facing the disappointed panel, shoulder to shoulder with her wilting team. 

And as crappy as she felt knowing that they hadn’t achieved the marks that were expected, it was crappier knowing that in some way, it was her fault. And Hunk’s a little. Not so much Lance’s. Mostly hers. 

Definitely an abnormal scenario. 

The panel was reviewing the data just printed off the simulator before addressing them but it was clear that they weren’t going to be getting the A expected of a fighter class team with one year of experience. 

Her dad, who was on the panel but not technically judging her due to their family relationship, was sending her a soft, calming smile. Which Katie appreciated abstractly but didn’t feel comforted by. Commander Iverson’s face was twisting into a darker grimace than was entirely appropriate, given that they hadn’t failed the mission or crashed the simulator. 

Officer Takashi Shirogane was judging in place of her dad and he was difficult to read in official settings with a completely blank face. She knew Shiro well enough, however, to recognize disappointment and for a moment she had to swallow or lose control of her emotions, which was just not done at Galaxy Garrison, especially not if you were a woman and wanted any modicum of respect. Still, it stung to feel like she had let down Shiro. He was practically a brother. 

Officer Harris and Professor Montgomery were mild-mannered teachers. They didn’t look upset, probably satisfied with their performance or maybe just too old and checked out to care. And to be honest, they liked her so much because of her grades that they would in all likeliness give the team higher marks than they had earned… 

But her team… 

Katie glanced over at Hunk, who had closed his eyes and bit his lip to stop it from quivering. His guilt apparent in his stance and appearance, since he had decided to stay up until almost dawn with her to make some spur of the moment adjustments to their end-of-the-month exhibition project (they had created a really nifty portable hologram generator for talking on the go). 

Flashes of brilliance usually needed to be made the most of since they weren’t exactly guaranteed. And the changes they had made had increased the range of their device 100-fold, so she couldn’t deny it had been worth it. 

But she couldn’t deny either that while she was used to late nights, maybe she shouldn’t have tested her abilities the night before their 8 a.m. practical. And she couldn’t deny that Hunk was not at all used to being a night owl, getting at minimum nine hours nightly. And she had goaded him into it, taking advantage of his excitement and cinnamon-roll nature. 

It hadn’t been fair to themselves and especially not to Lance, whose anxiety for this exam had been off the charts. He had been so afraid of doing poorly that he had spent every spare hour of the past few weeks studying or working out hard in the gym so he could collapse in bed early and wake up before dawn. 

Katie bit her cheek harshly as felt tears struggling to form. She had known this was important and she had been imprudent and overconfident. 

And now her team was paying the price. 

She didn’t want to look at Lance but she couldn’t help it as the panel before them straightened up and told them they were ready. She knew he was hurting because his expressive face was cold and stern and his posture was rigid. Not his normal excited and proud Garrison stance, but overly straight and still. He only got like this when he knew someone was about to browbeat him. 

And given the way Iverson was puffing himself up, they were all going to get a telling off. 

“Cadets, your performance was nothing special, which is decidedly UNDERpar at this point of your academic careers. Your individual marks will be given after this review, but the team performance was lackluster, uncoordinated, and unimpressive. Your final practical exam in June will be of the UTMOST importance if you want to remain in fighter class, and for those of you dependent on scholarships to continue your studies at the Galaxy Garrison-" 

Katie whipped her head up to glare daggers at the commander. She sent an encouraging smile to Lance and noticed Hunk trying the same thing but their pilot had dropped his head to stare at the floor tiles below during the harsh critique. 

That comment had been entirely inappropriate given that she had a mostly free ride to the Garrison as her dad was an acclaimed astronaut and scientist here, her brother a successful space explorer, and her GPA was basically flawless, outside of the practical simulation exams. And Hunk, who was an only child and had outstanding grades, wasn’t too worried about losing his place either. 

It was Lance that Iverson had singled out with that comment; Lance who wasn’t as intellectually gifted and had to work long and hard for the B’s and A’s needed to maintain his merit scholarships and grants. 

But her dad, and not-so-secret hero, wouldn’t allow Iverson to humiliate his student and sent her a look before turning to his left to cut him off, "Commander, that is something best to discuss alone in the individual reviews. Do you have any constructive criticism for them before we dismiss the team?" 

Iverson’s eye twitched and he looked over the papers before him and continued in his gruff drawl. 

"Our analysis showed improved communication, despite the overall score. Errors during the mission seemed to be from a delay in following out commands rather than a failure to implement them or imprudent decisions. The mission objectives were completed in an acceptable time and without destroying the ship, so that is to be commended. Your team mark is a B-, which is an improvement from your first practical examination mark of a C, however the difference is NEGLIGIBLE at best. I highly encourage you to work the test simulator twice weekly until the term ends. To stay in the fighter class, your final exam will need to be an A level or higher. You have your work cut out for your cadets. Dismissed." 

Katie felt her heart sink down somewhere in the vicinity of her toes if not through the floor. She didn’t want to go outside and talk to her team. 

This was the first time she could ever admit that she was to blame for something. 

Lance had done a good job during the exam, making the correct calls and repeating orders when she or Hunk misheard or took a moment too long to respond. She also felt bad knowing how much pride Hunk took in his work as an engineer. She could honestly say this was the lowest score either of them had gotten, outside of their disastrous first attempt, when they couldn’t even call themselves friends, let alone a team, and while he had chosen to stay up with her, he would never have thought to do that on his own. 

The group made their way out of their room but Katie stood still, anger at herself and guilt warring in her heart. 

A hand fell on her shoulder and she looked up to see Shiro offering a kind smile. "Are you feeling all right, Katie? You look pretty upset." 

She grimaced while fiddling with her Garrison jacket. "I’m feeling pretty upset. And tired. Exhausted really." 

Her friend gave her a hearty pat on the back. "Don’t let Iverson spook you too badly. The overall score was still in the 2.6 range, which is higher than before, and none of you failed any of the requirements. You may need to ace the next simulation but that shouldn’t be a problem if the three of you step up and work hard as a team." 

She pondered that for a minute before meeting his gaze sheepishly. "The thing is, the grade isn’t great. But that’s not bothering me. It’s because I know I could’ve done better, or cared more. I didn’t put my best effort in and I distracted my teammate so he wasn’t prepared either. I dragged the team down. And it’s affecting all of us." 

The best part about Shiro was that unlike her dad, who clearly loved her more than Matt, in her totally unbiased opinion, or Matt, who didn’t always give her tough love, he was completely fair. He considered the facts and didn’t sugarcoat the truth or lie to make you feel better. He would tell you what you needed to hear. 

"How did you drag the team down? From your marks, you did a competent job as the CO, albeit a little unresponsive." 

Katie felt shame blooming red on her cheeks. "It really was my fault, I’m no masochist. I got too invested in a personal project, something that’s for the exhibition, so it’s not even going to get a grade! And I dragged Hunk into it. We stayed up really late…." 

Shiro hummed. "How late?" 

"Um… four in the morning late? We had a way to increase capacity and we got so excited… He didn’t even make it back to his and Lance’s room…. just slept on my floor." 

To her surprise, he cracked a smile at that. "Only you could somehow self-sabotage by staying up until dawn working on tech projects." 

She smiled a little, realizing that at some point she had started to cry. "Yeah, well, it goes with the mad scientist territory. It’s just-" 

”…this is the first time you’ve let someone down?“ 

Katie nodded and swallowed. She couldn’t get Hunk’s frustrated expression or Lance’s…. blankness out of her mind. 

"And then Iverson made that comment about scholarships, like we all don’t know Lance annoys him, and at the very least Hunk and I know that Lance needs those scholarships… a 2.6 is too low for an exam that counts as a third of his practical grade-" 

"Katie, breathe. Don’t panic about it. You’ve figured out the problem, and now you need to find a solution." 

She did, taking long, slow breathes and calming herself down. She really had no experience of feeling guilt or shame. It was like a physical weight on her shoulders. 

"You’ve said you think it’s your fault. And you’re sure that the team would’ve performed better if you had been at your best. I’m not sure about that, Hunk seemed overly nervous and wasn’t paying attention. You were slow to carry out orders and needed things repeated so you definitely seemed off-kilter. Lance achieved all of his requirements but was docked points because he couldn’t control the ship. If that had been an actual space flight, at some point he would need to move you two past your physical issues and if he failed, the mission might have too. So while there is some fault with you, there are other ways that Hunk and Lance affected the team too." 

She may have guilted Hunk into staying up, but Shiro had a point about the team performance. They hadn’t adjusted well enough during the simulation. 

She needed to think about ways they could prepare for that in the next exam. "But Shiro, what should I say to them? I know Hunk won’ t be mad but he’s definitely beating himself up about it and probably annoyed with me. And Lance…. I don’t know how well you know him but I’ve never seen him shut down like that…" 

Shiro paused for a moment, cracking his knuckles while he thought. "You are the Communications Officer, so you need to communicate with your team. If you feel like you are at fault today, then it’s up to you to pick up the slack. Tell them how you feel, apologize if you feel the need to, and get to it. You work with your team, study hard with them, practice every day of the week if you have to. Don’t stop until all of your practice simulations come back in the A range. That’s how you make it up to them." 

She nodded, feeling lighter for the first time since she had gone into the simulator. 

"I know Hunk just needs some time but if Lance is really upset, I could ask Keith to train with him. He’s come really far this year in his teamwork and communication. Maybe that could help?" 

Katie snorted, it was possible for that proposal to work or go south incredibly fast. But Lance thrived off of challenge. Maybe it would be good for him to commiserate with another fighter class pilot. 

"That would be great, Shiro. I mean, I have to talk to both of them and apologize, but Keith might be able to help Lance in a way I can’t." 

Shiro smiled, "That’s the spirit, cadet. Feeling better?” She nodded and the two made their way out of the room. 

Nothing could keep Katie Holt down for long.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my [tumblr!](https://figandmelon.tumblr.com)


End file.
